The coach reacts to a dominant victory over CD Tondela

Sporting Clube de Portugal beat CD Tondela 4-0 to make it to the quarter-finals of the Taça de Portugal, and coach Rúben Amorim reviewed the game in his post-match press conference.

He began by commenting on the debut of Rafael Pontelo, who started at the Estádio José Alvalade.

"I liked how he did. Obviously he has a lot to do, with training, gym work, a new city and new teammates. He made his debut after eight days here. It was stipulated that he would play 45 minutes and he looked natural. His teammates and the game helped because we killed the match off early. There will be growth and he has a lot of potential."

Of the performance as a whole, he said that  "We didn't start with the right speed and the first chance came from CD Tondela. Then we developed our play, with good combinations, but we could have had a different tempo. We took the lead, scored three goals, and we managed things in the second half. Sebastián Coates came on when he had to. It was a competent showing."

Asked about the reason for his side's prolific attacking production in 2023/2024, Amorim explained that this is due to "the players up front, who have talent. The routines help, as well as the calendar sometimes."

After commenting that Daniel Bragança "felt a twinge in his foot, but I don't think it's a big deal. If it was something serious it would be a problem, but he's fine, as far as I know," the coach spoke about the evolution of Viktor Gyökeres.

"He's doing better because he knows the way we play and his teammates better. What he is learning is the different moments of the game. He was on a team who used a lot of transitions, but now he's on a team with a lot of possession and he's adapting to that. He's improving and becoming a more complete player," he considered.

Regarding the competition in goal, with Franco Israel being the player chosen on Tuesday,  Amorim reiterated his confidence in his two goalkeepers.

 "We look at Franco Israel and we see a mature goalkeeper who gives us confidence. I won't say who will play, I won't promise anything. They have to work and we have the utmost confidence in both Antonio Adán and Franco Israel."

Finally, he spoke about Morten Hjulmand and the differences in relation to other names who have played in the same position.

"He's a player who has different characteristics from João Palhinha and Manuel Ugarte. I can't say which is the best. It depends on the opposition, the way of playing, the moment in the game, his teammates. For his age, Morten Hjulmand is very mature and has adapted very quickly. In terms of his timing in the game, he is better, and in other things they were better," he stated.